How to Grow Gorgeous Tomatoes In Pots from Seeds

Do you love tomatoes? If so, you would enjoy learning how to grow gorgeous tomatoes in pots from seeds. There are many types of tomatoes like Cherry, Roma, or heirloom.

Here are a few tips to keep tomatoes healthy while under your indoor greenhouse lights.

How To Grow Tomatoes

How to Grow Tomatoes in Pots

Crowding a tomato seedling will kill the plant. Fish grow according to their environment is a myth, but not so with tomatoes. A tomato plant can’t grow without enough space.

Give the plants plenty of space. It doesn’t matter their growth stage. If you’re unsure, provide extra room.

They can’t have enough space. Tomatoes are grown in gardens and the wild.

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed

A tomato plant will need a big pot. It’s vital for their growth. When the plant has outgrown its original container, move it to a larger one. If the plant is in a 4-inch pot, move it to a one gallon pot.

How To Plant Tomatoes In A Bigger Pot

You should transfer tomato plants from their original pots. The plants will want to grow larger. When learning how to grow tomatoes in pots, space is key. When you buy tomato plants, you’ll notice their pots are weak.

Many garden experts have said that fabric aeration containers are the best for growing tomatoes.

With plastic containers, the most common is the nonporous planter.

Preparing The Pot

Fill a gallon container with soil

The standard for a large pot is one-gallon. Fill the container with potting soil or compost mix. You can buy soil at a nursery.

Soil with peat moss, pine bark, perlite, or vermiculite is best. Peat-based potting compost is also popular. Good soil is fluffy, yet firm.

If the soil is dense, your tomatoes won’t grow. If too thin, it doesn’t have enough minerals.

Soil balance is vital.

DIY Tomato Tips create a hole

When the soil is in the pot, dig a standard 4-inch diameter hole. If your plant is bigger, make the hole bigger.

The hole should be deeper than the plant’s base. 

Pull out the tomato plant

Remove the tomato plant from the smaller pot. Do not break its stem. If the stem breaks, the plant could die. Handle the plant with care. It will provide food after it grows. 

Transplanting The Tomato Plant

Use your finger lightly

When the pot is ready, transfer the tomato plant. Use your fingers to break up the roots in the root ball before placing your plant in its new home. Don’t disturb the roots, so handle with care. 

Place tomato plant low into the gallon

When most of the older soil is gone, place the plant in the one-gallon pot. The roots should be an inch below the new soil.

The tomato plant should be lower than it was in its original container. 

Pruning Your Tomato Plant

Leaves tomato

When small leaves, like the two in the photo, fall off the plant, remove them. They’ve served their purpose.

If they get in the soil, they will wilt and mold.

Firm up the soil connection

When the dead leaves are gone, the tomato plant will begin to live a healthy life. Firm the old and new soil together. Add a top layer of new soil.

Lower root ball soil

The plant’s root ball should be covered by its previous soil level. The new soil will be higher. Do not use dirt. Tomato plants need vitamins. 

Tomato Plant Care

Tomatoes require care. Here are some tips to ensure your plant will live a long life and produce many tomatoes. 

Continue Upsizing

Transplant a tomato

Each time you move a tomato plant, place its stalk deeper in its new container. This will make the plant stronger. With each pot transfer, increase the size. If you do this the healthier your tomato plant will be.

Remove Suckers

Help tomato plants stay manageable

When tomato plants are small, trim the suckers. Suckers are tiny branches that sprout between the main branches and stalk.

They look like the hair on your arms. They don’t have a purpose but can take energy from the main stem. This will stunt growth.

Pinch or cut the plant

Remove suckers when you see them. They will drain the plant’s energy. The plant will stop growing and producing tomatoes. You don’t want a million branches, you want a million delicious tomatoes.

How to Fix Leaning Plants

newly transplanted tomato plant leans

After you put your plant in a new pot and it leans, support it so it will “learn” to grow straight. When it is bigger, add stakes to help it stand up straight. When the plant is small, other remedies are available. 

Stick a bamboo skewer

Place a small bamboo stick in the soil and close to the plant, but not on the stalk. Don’t pierce the tomato plant. Place it one inch from the stalk so it won’t harm the roots.

Extra ling plastic twist tie

Use a long plastic twist or zip tie and fix it around the upper stalk and bamboo skewer. You can use string or yarn. If you don’t keep it loose it will sever the plant. 

Tighten the twist tie

It might be tempting to tie the stalk to the bamboo skewer to prevent it from leaning. But this will cut the soft stalk and cause permanent damage. You want to keep it loose.

Tomato plant plenty of room

Give your tomato plant room to grow. As it grows, nudge its growth direction. Let the plant choose its path. You are there to offer guidance, nothing more.

Forcing its growth will not offer a healthy result.

Feeding And Watering

More water for plant

When you shock a plant, water it to help ease the transition. Do the same thing when you move or adjust it.

Water the plant daily. Give it extra water when it is disturbed. After you exercise, you need water. Plants are the same.

Adult Tomato Plants

Growing tomato from seeds

After the winter season ends, move the tomato plant outdoors. You can put it in a garden plot, square foot garden, or in a larger pot. The plants will grow better against a trellis or wire cage.

When learning how to grow tomatoes in pots, watch out for suckers. With water and sunlight, your tomato plant will grow and produce fruit before summer has ended.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)FAQ

How Long Does It Take To Grow Tomatoes?

It depends on when you plant them. Early-season tomatoes will grow in less than two months. Late season tomatoes may take up to three months. And mid-season tomatoes will be somewhere in between.

How Do You Grow Tomatoes In Pots?

Tomatoes can thrive in pots. But after they are adults, they tend to want a larger space to grow. But if you want to continue growing tomatoes in a pot, you can get a large garden pot. If you do this, you will need lattice or a stake to help it grow straight. 

How Do you Grow Cherry Tomatoes From Seeds?

Cherry tomatoes grow like other tomatoes. The difference is that they are smaller, and thus, more fragile. So be very careful when handling the plants or you may break them. Water them twice a week in mild climates. 

How Do You Grow Tomatoes Indoors?

Tomatoes can be grown indoors, but it might be difficult. The plants need eight hours of sunlight each day. They also need to be kept at 70 degrees Fahrenheit at least. If the temperature is good, then they may grow near a window or screen door. 

What If My Tomatoes Start Cracking?

If the tomato fruit has cracks or bruises, it means you’re giving the plants too much water. Reduce daily watering and they should do well. The opposite is true if the tomato plant is wilting. If that’s the case, give it more water.

Why Are My Tomatoes Brown And Bruised?

If your tomatoes are rotten or brown, they need more calcium. Use potting soil with extra calcium or add calcium to the topsoil. This should prevent any more tomatoes from turning out that way but won’t save the ruined ones. 

Tomato Plant Conclusion

Growing tomato plants are not difficult. Before you start, learn how to grow tomatoes in pots. There are a few simple things you must learn if you want healthy tomatoes. Water, soil, and indoor pots are the three key factors for growing tomato plants.

Also, if your plant isn’t set, it won’t survive. You should treat your tomato plant like you would a friend or child. If you neglect it, the plant will not have a healthy life.